Rey Bancayrin

Radio DXLL

March 30, 1998, in Zamboanga City, Philippines

Bancayrin, a well-known broadcaster for Radio DXLL in the southern region of Mindanao, was shot to death while on the air. Two unidentified gunmen entered the broadcast booth while he was talking to a listener and shot him three times at point-blank range. The killers calmly left the station and escaped. Bancayrin was known for his outspoken attacks on local corruption, illegal logging, and drug smugglers. The Zamboanga Press Club called his death "a blow to press freedom." In a letter to President Fidel V. Ramos, CPJ pointed out that Bancayrin was the 33rd journalist killed in the line of duty in the Philippines since the ouster of Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and called for an immediate investigation into his murder.